Rahamatu-Lahi Zakaria | Producer, Breakfast Live Show
Savannah Women Integrated Women Development (SWIDA-GH) is set to use radio Drama to tackle Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the Northern Region starting from May on some selected radio stations in the region.
The radio drama falls under the KASA project which is funded by the Africa Women Development fund to end SGVB and make society a safer place for women and girls, especially at the institutional level.
The First Episode to air ‘’ Born a female’’ looks at gender roles and their impact with regards to girls’ security and how as collectives in society, we need to support victims of SGBV without blaming them. The drama also highlights the role of chiefs in the fight against SGBV in the community.
The first scene of the Drama opens with Mma Amina telling her daughter, Shakira to go to her father’s farm to get firewood. Shakira makes a suggestion that instead of her going why not let her brother who is idling around to go fetch the firewood.
The mother refuses to say it is the command of her father(Shakira’s father) that they should not involve her brother in the household chores. This eventually led to the raping of Shakira on her father’s farm by Mba Azindo.
The scene highlight gender roles and decision making in our homes and how this affects us as people. Decision making in most homes is usually made by the man considered the head of the family. Women’s thoughts and ideas are not sought when making decisions for the whole family. We sense the fear in the voice of Mma Amina when she tells her daughter that, her father is the landlord and when he talks she barely can talk back.
The fear of the woman contributing to the decision making in the home is a big challenge that needs to be tackled. Women need to be empowered to speak up and men as well need to let women’s voices be heard in the home. Raising a family is not just the man’s responsibility alone but both parties. If Mma Amina was allowed to make decisions in the home, Shakira might not have been raped.
The drama also tries to show the significance of authorities like the chiefs in our community’s role in the fight against SGBV. If we want to achieve zero violence against women in our community, then we need to involve the chiefs who are a symbol of unity and authority.
Their say matter and they should be discouraged from pleading or shielding predators. They should be made to cooperate with security authorities in the community to bring justice to the victim. This drama perfectly demonstrates that with the way the chief actively comments on the issue and his subsequent actions.
